AS Tiger Woods tees up at this week’s Open at Carnoustie, the rest of the golfing field might be hoping that the birth of his first child last month will have affected his focus and his form.

But there’s not much chance of that because Tiger, like so many top sports people, has learned to stay focussed in

any situation.

He uses a form of neuro-linguistic programming, NLP, which changes the way people think and behave.

Toby McCartney, director of NLP training provider West One Training, said: “NLP can be used in many different areas, from personal development to learning techniques. We teach people of all ages. One student, a 14-year-old girl who had reading difficulties, used NLP to learn to read faster.”

Mary Baxter, founder of Pegasus Evolution, is a practitioner of NLP who works with bosses to help them improve their skills.

She said: “NLP can help people to raise their business performance by allowing them to resolve some of the issues that have been holding them back. NLP helps them discover what they can achieve.”

In the same way, NLP practitioner Murielle Maupoint, founder of Live It Ventures, helps women to fulfil their career and business potential.

She said: “Women are particularly prone to a lack of self-belief. That is partly why there are so few women in the top jobs. NLP not only helps you to feel more confident and manage your thoughts, it can also banish the self-doubt that can paralyse people.”

More recently NLP has been used to help youngsters tackle some of the key decisions about their future careers.

Rosie O’Hara, founder of NLP Highland, said: “When you are 15 or 16 you face enormous pressure about your future. NLP can help teenagers set clear outcomes for what they want, rather than being influenced to follow other people’s decisions about their future.”